In recent years, advances in technology, as well as ever-evolving tastes in style, have led to substantial changes in the design of automobiles. One of the changes involves the complexity of the electrical and drive systems within automobiles, particularly alternative fuel vehicles, such as hybrid, electric, and fuel cell vehicles. Such alternative fuel vehicles typically use one or more electric motors, perhaps in combination with another actuator, to drive the wheels.
Often, particularly in hybrid vehicles, the electric motor (including a stator and a rotor) is enclosed within a relatively large case, or “can housing.” This assembly is typically purchased by the automobile manufacturer from another party, which separately purchases and assembles the individual components, before selling the completed assembly to the automobile manufacturer. Purchasing such a large, complex component from a supplier significantly increases the manufacturing costs of the vehicles.
Additionally, as the power and performance demands on alternative fuel vehicles continue to increase, there is an ever increasing need to maximize the efficiency of the various systems within the vehicles, as well as reduce the overall costs of the vehicles. Moreover, there is a constant desire to reduce the space required by the components in order to minimize the overall cost and weight of the vehicles.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide an improved method and system for installing an electric motor in an alternative fuel vehicle. Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the foregoing technical field and background.